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Why A Train Wreck Was The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Some Children One Summer
A 1948 train wreck in Latrobe, Pennsylvania brought a lot of happiness to local children
Latrobe, Pennsylvania is a relatively sleepy community perhaps best known as being the birthplace of golfer Arnold Palmer and children’s entertainer Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers). However, in August, 1948, a destructive train wreck on the little city’s local rail tracks proved to be the happy highlight for many local children,
The August 9, 1948 issue of the Times Leader out of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania told the story of the 101-car Pennsylvania Railroad freight train that derailed in Latrobe the day before. With around 11,000 residents at the time, the rails were one of its prominent features.
It was determined that a car not far from the diesel engine jumped the tracks and down an embankment. Its momentum brought a total of 30 box cars with it, tumbling and crashing over the hill. Wreckage cascaded across two streets that traversed parallel to the tracks.
One of the cars that burst open was an oil tankard, sending its polluting contents rushing across the tracks and down into municipal storm drains. In the following days, hundreds of men worked tirelessly to pick up the debris and…
